Readers and Verifiers – whats the difference?
A code reader simply decodes a mark and inputs the number into your computer to identify a particular instrument. A verifier will carry out the same job as the reader, but additionally it will provide a quality assessment of the code. It does this by taking a picture of the code and then analysing it for a number of different parameters. It will assess the contrast between the light and dark parts of the code, the number of errors present, the uniformity (squareness) of the individual elements and so on. It can be set up to provide a pass/fail assessment of each mark that is made or be used on a batch basis. A report is usually prepared which can be either stored or printed out. The parameters that should be assessed are specified by GS1 together with the wavelength of light used to carry out the analysis, The use of a specified light creates difficulties, particularly with codes on highly reflective instruments and it may be necessary to use alternative methods to establish “real worl
